Kartik Aaryan’s association with Dharma Productions is entering a high-stakes new chapter. Box Office Worldwide has exclusively learned that the actor will headline Kaaliya, a mytho creature feature that Karan Johar is mounting as one of Dharma’s most ambitious films to date. The project is already in pre-production and is scheduled to go on floors in December 2026.
Kaaliya Gears Up As A Big Dharma Tentpole
The film brings together Kartik Aaryan, director Sandeep Modi, and producer Karan Johar for a collaboration that instantly stands out on the Hindi film landscape. Modi, best known for The Night Manager, steps into the big-screen space with a concept that aims to blend mythology-rooted storytelling with creature-feature scale, giving Kaaliya a distinct identity within Dharma’s upcoming slate.
For Kartik, the film also marks another decisive move toward headline-driven theatrical projects. At a time when star-led Hindi cinema is leaning heavily on established franchises and familiar genres, Kaaliya gives him a fresh world and a genre pivot that carries both risk and novelty.
First Look Planned With Ramayana
The immediate talking point is the film’s reveal strategy. The makers are planning to unveil the first look of Kaaliya around Diwali, with the video asset expected to be attached to prints of Ramayana. If that rollout holds, the first visual introduction of Kaaliya will arrive in front of one of the biggest theatrical audiences available to a Hindi film campaign.
That placement is not incidental. Ramayana: Part One began its promotional rollout earlier in 2026, with Prime Focus Studios unveiling its official trailer on July 30, 2026. Dharma Productions is distributing the film across North India’s Hindi-speaking markets, making the Kaaliya attachment a smart in-house launchpad for the banner.
What We Know About The Film So Far
Beyond Kartik Aaryan’s casting and Sandeep Modi’s direction, the makers are keeping plot specifics tightly under wraps. What is confirmed is the film’s high-budget ambition and its long pre-production runway before cameras roll in December 2026. That timeline points to a production built around extensive prep, design, and visual planning rather than a quick assembly-line shoot.
The mythology-creature blend also gives the film a fresh positioning in the current market, where genuinely original commercial worlds remain relatively rare. For Dharma, Kaaliya is shaping up as a film that is being designed from the ground up as a theatrical attraction.
Kartik Aaryan’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Kaaliya arrives at an interesting point in Kartik Aaryan’s career. Over the last few years, he has balanced crowd-pleasing commercial titles with sharper departures, moving from Freddy on Netflix in 2022 to theatrical releases such as Shehzada and Satyaprem Ki Katha in 2023, followed by Chandu Champion and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 in 2024. That stretch has steadily expanded his screen image beyond lighthearted romance into physically demanding drama and franchise territory.
Against that backdrop, Kaaliya feels less like a routine signing and more like a statement move. It places Kartik at the centre of a new genre play while reinforcing his push toward films built for scale, curiosity, and strong theatrical recall. His confirmed slate also includes Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, while an untitled Kabir Khan feature remains in development, underlining a phase where his choices are becoming broader in tone and more ambitious in pitch.
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